Thursday, May 14th, 2009...9:16 pm
More on newspapers’ use of social media
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Well, now that I’ve discussed The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Co.’s rules for social media to death, it’s time to take a peek at other newspapers’ policies. (Hats off to Steve Buttry for a post that alerted me to The New York Times’ and The Washington Post’s policies.)
The New York Times:
The New York Times says it likely won’t develop a Twitter policy per se, according a New York Observer story, but will use its guidelines for Facebook. (Read the rules by scrolling all the way down at this link.) In general, they’re milder than WSJ’s:
“Facebook and other social networking sites — MySpace, LinkedIn, even Twitter — can be remarkably useful reporting tools, as the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 proved.”
But then they get just a wee bit paranoid, I think:
“Be careful not to write anything on a blog or a personal Web page that you could not write in The Times — don’t editorialize, for instance, if you work for the News Department. Anything you post online can and might be publicly disseminated, and can be twisted to be used against you by those who wish you or The Times ill — whether it’s text, photographs, or video. That includes things you recommend on TimesPeople or articles you post to Facebook and Digg, content you share with friends on MySpace, and articles you recommend through TimesPeople. … Just remember that we are always under scrutiny by magnifying glass and that the possibilities of digital distortion are virtually unlimited, so always ask yourself, could this be deliberately misconstrued or misunderstood by somebody who wants to make me look bad?”
My reaction: Wow. Newspapers are really, really afraid of readers, sources, everyone. Good grief. With this level of fear it’s no wonder readers might feel disconnected from newspapers.
The Washington Post
The Washington Post’s policy on social media, as explained in Editor & Publisher, includes:
- Use good judgment.
- Notify senior editors beforehand if you plan to Twitter or live-blog something you’re covering.
- Don’t use new media to get into oral “fisticuffs with rivals or critics or to advance personal agendas.”
- Don’t embarrass the newspaper or impair journalistic independence
These are fine to me, although I readily acknowledge that the full list that E&P published on WSJ’s rules is easier to pick on than a few snippets.
Now, here’s a policy I like.
It comes from Jamie Kelly, social media guide at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa:
- If you’re using an account for work purposes, identify yourself as an employee of The Gazette.
- If posting something would embarass you or the company, or call your professional reputation into question, DON’T POST IT.
Succinct. Useful. Social. I love it.
I'm Gina Chen, a 20-year veteran newspaper journalist who is studying for a communications Ph.D. I want to see journalism survive. I believe news organizations need to embrace new media, change their thinking, improve their content and innovate. Read more about me 
37 Comments
May 14th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Thanks for the mention! I’m glad you liked it. I think succinct and letting people know you trust them is the way to go.
May 14th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
@Jamie – Very welcome.
Simple is best.
– Gina
May 14th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Newspaper heads’ paranoia about social media is clearly why, in too many cases, they are afraid to embrace even the simplest of new media available to them. In some cases, this also leads to the unappreciation of reporters who embrace new media methods, because the boss doesn’t understand (or want to understand) the positives and put enough trust in reporters to let them run with it.
Just another malady the j-world is stricken with …
May 14th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
[...] social media rules: NY Times, Washington Post, etc. By Steve Buttry Update: Gina M. Chen blogged abou the New York Times and Washington Post social media rules, providing thoughtful insight on [...]
May 15th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Amen. I agree with Gina’s views on the NYT. It’s exactly that kind of ivory tower approach that makes readers feel that “we are better than them.”
One would think that journalists working at the NYT would have that kind of common sense anyway…
Jamie’s hit the nail right on the head.
May 15th, 2009 at 11:27 am
So, NYT says it’s OK to use social media as long as you’re not socializing? Hmm …
As usual, great post. Know of any other media (TV/radio) or PR policies, Gina? Just curious.
May 15th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
@Shane L. –
Shane,
I think you sum up NYT policy well. I saw some discussion of LA Times’ policy on this Nieman Journalism Lab post by Mathew Ingram: http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/05/newspapers-and-rules-on-twitter/
– Gina
May 15th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
@jan hennop –
Thanks.
Unfortunately, the “ivory tower” approach isn’t unique to one paper. I think that distance is all too common.
– Gina
May 15th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
@Craig –
Good point.
There is a lot of fear of social media at newspapers, I think, particularly among upper-level managers because they don’t fully understand them, and they worry they are losing control. And you’re right, the staffers who “get it” are stuck. They are eyed suspiciously or their time spent on social media isn’t valued. The result: Nobody even bothers to innovate.
The thing is people who lead rather than manage have an easier time accepting what’s new and the pay off is increased innovation. That, to me, is an attitude change that newspapers need.
– Gina
May 15th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
If I had to sum it up, it would be:
Be yourself, behave yourself, enjoy yourself, learn from others.
Journalists shouldn’t have to be told not to misrepresent themselves, or embarrass themselves, or cheer on a political candidate or cause and think people won’t notice. But journalists shouldn’t have to be told not to plagiarize, either.
May 16th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
@Brian Cubbison – Very true. One would hope journalists would know this because these were issues important long before social media was invented.
– Gina
May 19th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
[...] Contact me More on newspapers’ use of social media [...]
May 27th, 2009 at 10:21 am
[...] the journalism landscape evolved under their feet, managers at The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and others, have laid down some ground [...]
June 14th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
[...] suck all the social out of social media. (If you’re late to this topic, get up to speed on The New York Times’ and The Wall Street Journal’s ill-advised social media policies.) The latest culprit is [...]
July 9th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
[...] to have a problem with breaching anything. To me, authenticity would makes it needless to impose cumbersome rules for journalists’ social media [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 11:37 am
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 11:59 am
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 12:00 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 12:01 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 12:08 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 12:08 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 12:19 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 12:40 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 2:18 pm
[...] call their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 3:58 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 6:43 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 10:02 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 10:07 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
August 1st, 2009 at 4:50 am
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but understandable).What’s the point of asking readers if Times journalists should be [...]
August 2nd, 2009 at 3:35 pm
[...] reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
August 2nd, 2009 at 6:34 pm
[...] their professional reputation into question. Here’s their policy on those sorts of things (a wee bit paranoid indeed, but [...]
August 4th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
[...] 個人的には、現実界と同様に自らを律して振る舞うことができるのなら、ソーシャルネットワークに参加することも自由だと考えている。つまりいたずらに混乱に陥ったり所属企業を混乱させたりせず、プロフェッショナルとしての見識を疑われるようなことをしないことが条件だということだ。New York Timesによる参加ポリシーもある（少々拘りすぎにも思えるが、まあ理解できるものだ）。 [...]
August 12th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
[...] found an article by Gina Chen of SaveTheMedia.Com that discussed the policies of the NY Times and Wall Street Journal on social media. They remind [...]
October 4th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
[...] Post is discouraging its staff from using social media, which doesn’t promote transparency. Gina Chen has a round-up of other top newspapers’ policies as well, and promotes Jamie Kelly’s [...]
October 19th, 2009 at 11:34 am
[...] that has been waging now for months. It began in the spring when first the Dow Jones Co. and then The New York Times issued social media rules. Then it resurfaced recently when The Washington Post released its rules, [...]
October 21st, 2009 at 5:30 pm
[...] Jeff Jarvis recently addressed the Wall Street Journals policies on employees and social media and it got a lot of buzz (no pun intended – the name of his blog is BuzzMachine). His brief post is linked here. There were other posts in the blogosphere about it as well. Here’s another one by Gina Chen. [...]
December 31st, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Businesses are rightfully concerned about liability. Especially for media outlets, they work very hard to monetize every bit of news that they can. One must take a balanced approach to their policy regarding posts that may reflect on their business.
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